Editorial
10 Predictions for EDM in 2026
Happy New Year!
As the dust settles on 2025, we are looking forward to what promises to be a pivotal year for electronic dance music. From the return of legendary sounds to massive shifts in how we experience festivals, the industry is gearing up for a shake-up this coming year. Here are our top 10 predictions for what the EDM world has in store for 2026.
01. Tiesto’s return to Trance leads to a full world tour
Tiesto‘s long-awaited return to trance received high remarks, especially as it’s been almost two decades since he commanded the stage with an all-trance mix. We first saw a glimpse of this return in May when he performed at EDC Las Vegas for a special ‘In Search of Sunrise‘ set. Then again this past November at Dreamstate SoCal. We are predicting that this momentum will lead to a full-blown world tour in 2026, where Tiesto premieres his signature trance sound once again to a new generation.
02. Hardwell makes his long-awaited return to EDC Las Vegas
After Hardwell’s special announcement that he is performing at EDC Mexico in 2026, we are guessing he will make a triumphant return to EDC Las Vegas as well. Insomniac Events typically books artists to show up on multiple lineups throughout the season. This could mean a return to the Speedway very soon. The mainstage feels empty without him and 2026 seems like the year he reclaims the throne.
03. Amelie Lens & Sara Landry close out the Ultra Mainstage
Techno has officially hit the mainstream. These powerful women have made huge milestones in the past couple of years, and I doubt they plan to stop anytime soon. Giving them the closing slot would be a historic move for Ultra Miami, but the crowds are ready for it. I’m sure they have a few good tricks up their sleeves for this debut back-to-back.
04. Celebrities becoming DJs
Lately, we have seen some mainstream artists making their way into the EDM scene. T-Pain, Rebecca Black, and Shaquille O’Neal (DJ Diesel) have all made their way into the community. Some have been welcomed with open arms, while others are viewed with skepticism. As time goes on, we are seeing more celebrities moving into the spotlight of dance music. In 2026, don’t be surprised if we see even more actors or pop stars trying to control the decks.
05. Drum and Bass finally conquers the Mainstage in the US
For years, Drum and Bass has been dominating Europe while remaining a “side stage” genre in the states. That ends in 2026. Following the massive success of the Worship tours and Hedex‘s rise, we predict a major US festival (we’re looking at you Ultra) will finally book a DnB act for a mainstage slot. The energy is undeniable, and American crowds are finally catching up to the speed.
06. Tomorrowland Thailand becomes the destination festival of the year
With recent rumors circulating regarding the new edition of Tomorrowland, we are almost certain that Thailand will be THE travel destination for all ravers in 2026. This will almost certainly become the “must-attend” event of the year, potentially even overshadowing the original festival in Belgium due to the novelty factor. We fully expect a blend of top-tier production, a diverse lineup, and regional themes that will add a whole new chapter to the story of Tomorrowland.
07. Artist-curated festivals start to outsell the traditional massive festivals
Excision, John Summit, and Griz all host their own successful festivals now. This leaves a huge ultimatum for fans who choose to attend only one or two events a year. The heavy hitters like EDC or Ultra might be left out of the picture because they can’t always guarantee a specific vibe the way a curated event can. This shift toward “boutique” but massive artist-led events could make or break the EDM scene in the upcoming years.
08. Skrillex is everywhere (and Jack Ü returns?)
We predict 2026 will be the year of Skrillex. After the huge success of his recent albums, we anticipate a full-on tour with performances spread out across multiple festivals. He is already a confirmed headliner for Lollapalooza Argentina, and many are speculating he might return to Ultra Miami. But the biggest rumor? A Jack Ü reunion. It’s been long overdue and with Diplo and Sonny both active, 2026 feels like the perfect time to break the internet again.
09. The Return of the Golden Era
Nostalgia runs in cycles, and we are right on time for a revival of the 2014 golden era. We predict a wave of producers will be releasing tracks that mimic the high-energy Big Room House and melodic Progressive House of the glory days. As techno gets darker, a large portion of the crowd is craving those “hands in the air” euphoric moments again.
10. The “No Phone” policy reaches Festivals
As fan fatigue grows over crowds of recording screens, the “be in the moment” movement will go from niche to a premium mainstage feature. We’ve seen it before with Lane 8’s “This Never Happened” concept. We predict a major festival will designate a specific stage or a major headliner slot as a strict “No Phone Zone” in 2026. This will likely be enforced with locking pouches or strict security for select sets to bring the vibe back to the music.
While our predictions might not be perfect, the excitement in the air is undeniable as the industry bridges the gap between its legendary roots and its high-tech future. So, dust off your rave boots, secure those presale tickets, and prepare for a year that promises to redefine the boundaries of electronic music. We’ll be watching closely to see which of these rumors become reality—see you on the dancefloor!
EDM Events Held At The World’s Most Historic Sites, from the Great Wall and Petra to Versailles and the Pyramids
EDM events held at historic sites have become one of the more interesting ways major artists and promoters are taking electronic music beyond standard clubs, arenas, and festival grounds. The strongest examples are not just famous locations with a stage placed nearby, but performances where the site matters to how the event is filmed, produced, and remembered. Anyma and Tiësto have brought major electronic productions to the Pyramids of Giza, Bedouin performed for Cercle at Petra, Nina Kraviz played a sunrise set on the Great Wall of China, and Adriatique filmed a Cercle set at Hatshepsut Temple in Luxor. The same idea also appears through POSITIV Electronic Festival at the Roman Theatre of Orange, Charlotte de Witte at Ancient Messene, and Nifra at Masada Fortress, where historic architecture, ancient ruins, desert landscapes, and protected heritage sites become part of how each performance is experienced. These events show why historic locations are becoming a serious part of electronic music’s destination-event culture, especially when the artist, production, and setting all make sense together.
Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
Events:
Anyma presents Quantum Genesys
@anyma
The End Of Genesys | Pyramids of Giza
Tiësto at the Pyramids of Giza
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The Great Pyramids of Giza have become one of the clearest examples of how far large-scale electronic shows can go when the location is part of the story. Anyma presents Quantum Genesys took place at the pyramids on October 10, 2025, with the night split between his Quantum DJ set and The End Of Genesys audiovisual show across two stages. The production leaned into the contrast between the ancient site and Anyma’s digital world, using large visuals, lighting, and a long nighttime format that ran from 5 PM to 3 AM near the Giza Plateau. Tiësto at the Pyramids of Giza followed on December 19, 2025, with a PRISMATIC set that brought another major electronic name into the same setting, adding to Giza’s recent place in destination EDM events.
Petra, Jordan
Events:
Bedouin at Petra for Cercle
Medaina Festival
Petra is one of the most recognizable historic sites connected to electronic music through Bedouin at Petra for Cercle, filmed at Al-Khazneh, the Treasury, in 2022. The set was not a public festival, but a controlled early-morning performance with no crowd, placing Bedouin’s hybrid live sound directly in front of the sandstone monument. That format worked differently from a standard stage show because the production did not need a large audience setup to make the location central to the performance. In 2025, Medaina Festival gave Jordan a wider electronic music moment across Petra and Wadi Rum, with a lineup that included Âme, Bedouin, HVOB, Jimi Jules, Mind Against, Patrice Bäumel, and Sonja Moonear. With Petra already listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, the location adds one of the article’s strongest examples of electronic music being presented in direct connection with an ancient landmark, while Medaina Festival extends that connection into a broader destination event across Jordan’s desert and heritage settings.
Masada Fortress, Israel
Event:
Nifra Live at Masada Fortress
@nifraofficial Do you know this track? ❤️ My new live set recorded at Masada Fortress is now on youtube #nifra #trance #trancefamily #trancefamily #trancemusic #tranceclassics #raver #femaledj #dj #edm #trancecommunity #masada #delerium #silence ♬ Silence – Andrew Rayel & Achilles Remix – Delerium
Nifra Live at Masada Fortress placed the Slovakian trance artist at one of Israel’s most dramatic historic sites, high above the Dead Sea in the Judaean Desert. Masada is a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its desert plateau, Herod the Great’s palace complex, and the remains connected to the Roman siege of 73 A.D. For the 2023 set, Nifra performed from the clifftops of Masada Fortress in partnership with Tiede Night’s, with the sunset timing giving the performance a direct visual connection to the desert landscape around the site. The result fits the article because it connects a known trance artist with a protected ancient fortress, without stretching the angle into a normal festival or unrelated event space.
Great Wall of China, China
Event:
Nina Kraviz at the Great Wall of China
Nina Kraviz played a sunrise set at the Great Wall of China in May 2018, turning one of the world’s most famous historic landmarks into a stripped-back techno performance with no need for festival-scale production. The set was filmed on the wall in the early morning, with the mountain landscape and stone watchtowers framing the performance as the light changed across the site. For an artist closely tied to underground techno, the location gave the set a very different feel from a club or warehouse show, placing her sound against a landmark known for Chinese history, military architecture, and centuries of preservation. The Great Wall is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, which makes Nina Kraviz at the Great Wall of China one of the most direct examples of a globally known electronic artist performing at a protected historic site.
Roman Theatre of Orange, France
Event:
POSITIV Electronic Festival
@saralandrydj POSITIV FESTIVAL B2B WITH BESTIE 💫 After 6 years of friendship it was insane to do a show like this together @Nico Moreno 🥹 Such a crazy venue at the Théâtre antique d’Orange and it was completely full from front to back! 🤯 Thank you Positiv for making this happen 🖤 #electronicmusic #hardtechno #techno ♬ original sound – Sara Landry
The Roman Theatre of Orange brings POSITIV Electronic Festival into a venue that was already made for live performance more than 2,000 years ago. Set in France’s Rhône Valley, the UNESCO-listed theatre is known for its preserved Roman stage wall, which still rises behind the crowd and gives the festival a setting that feels completely different from a standard outdoor stage. POSITIV Electronic Festival has used that space for major electronic lineups, with recent names including Amelie Lens, Argy, James Hype, Sara Landry b2b Nico Moreno, Anfisa Letyago, Paul Kalkbrenner, Mind Against, Joachim Pastor, and KAS:ST b2b Space 92. The event also makes strong use of the theatre’s architecture through large-scale lighting and video mapping across the ancient stage wall, turning the preserved Roman structure into part of the show without losing the historical weight of the venue.
Ancient Messene, Greece
Event:
Charlotte de Witte at Ancient Messene
Charlotte de Witte at Ancient Messene brought the Belgian techno artist into the ancient theater at Messene for a 2021 live DJ set presented by Onassis Stegi. The performance was streamed through the Onassis Channel and placed her sound inside one of Greece’s major archaeological settings, with the stone theater, open-air site, and surrounding ruins giving the set a very different frame from a club or festival stage. The project was based on a concept by ADD Festival, with Onassis Foundation directing the stream and presenting it as a filmed electronic performance from the ancient theater rather than a public festival. With Charlotte de Witte already recognized as one of techno’s biggest names, the Messene set gives the Greece section a stronger link between a major electronic artist and a historic site.
Hatshepsut Temple, Luxor, Egypt
Event:
Adriatique at Hatshepsut Temple for Cercle
Adriatique at Hatshepsut Temple for Cercle brought the Swiss duo to the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut in Luxor, one of Egypt’s most striking ancient sites on the west bank of the Nile. The temple sits within the wider Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis UNESCO World Heritage property, giving the set a direct link to Egypt’s ancient history beyond the usual destination-show setting. Adriatique performed in front of the temple’s long terraces and limestone cliffs, with the Cercle format keeping the focus on the duo’s melodic techno, the architecture, and the scale of the site. The result placed a major electronic act inside a location already known for ancient Egyptian history, making the performance feel closely tied to Luxor rather than just filmed in a scenic location.
@cercle_music Somewhere in the world, at the Hatshepsut Temple, with @ADRIATIQUE. #cercle #cercleshow #adriatique #hatsheput #electronicmusic ♬ original sound – Cercle
The strongest historic-site electronic events are the ones where the location has a real role in the performance. Anyma at the Pyramids of Giza, Bedouin at Petra, Nina Kraviz at the Great Wall of China, Adriatique at Hatshepsut Temple, and POSITIV Electronic Festival at the Roman Theatre of Orange all show how different that can look, from large audiovisual productions to filmed DJ sets and full festival formats. The site changes the way the performance is seen because the architecture, history, lighting, crowd setup, and filming all become part of the final result. That is what separates these shows from normal destination events, where the location is often secondary to the lineup.
Historic locations also come with limits that standard event venues do not have. UNESCO-linked landmarks and protected heritage spaces involve local approval, access rules, sound restrictions, staging limits, preservation concerns, and cultural responsibility. That does not mean electronic music cannot work in these places, but it does mean the event has to make sense beyond the photo. As more artists and promoters look for settings outside standard stages, the strongest historic-site events will be the ones where the music, production, and location feel connected from the beginning.
EDC Las Vegas 2027 Expands To Two Weekends with new Dusk Till Dawn concept across 12 days
EDC Las Vegas 2027 will return to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway with one of the festival’s biggest format changes in years, as Insomniac introduces Dusk Till Dawn, a new concept spanning two consecutive weekends and 12 days across Las Vegas. Following the sold-out 2026 edition, which marked 30 years of Electric Daisy Carnival, the 2027 festival will open with EDC Dusk from May 14 to 16, continue with EDC Dawn from May 21 to 23, and run as the full Dusk Till Dawn Experience from May 13 to 24. Pasquale Rotella said the new format gives Headliners the freedom to choose between one weekend or both, while allowing EDC Las Vegas to extend further into the city through themed events, lower capacity, and more space on the dance floor.
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How EDC Las Vegas 2027 Will Split Across Dusk And Dawn Weekends
The new Dusk Till Dawn format changes EDC Las Vegas 2027 from a single festival weekend into two separate editions at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with EDC Dusk taking place from May 14 to 16 and EDC Dawn following from May 21 to 23. Instead of placing the full festival inside one weekend, Insomniac is giving Headliners the option to choose the first weekend, the second weekend, or the full Dusk Till Dawn experience. That shift gives attendees more control over how they plan EDC Las Vegas, whether they are flying in for one weekend, staying in the city longer, or treating both weekends as one extended festival run.
The wider Dusk Till Dawn Experience will run from May 13 to 24, taking the concept beyond the three festival nights of each weekend. EDC-themed events will take place throughout Las Vegas during that period, connecting the main festival at the Speedway with the citywide side of EDC Week, Hotel EDC, Camp EDC, and related Las Vegas events still to be announced. Insomniac also confirmed that the 2027 edition is being planned with lower capacity, giving Headliners more space on the dance floor while reducing some of the travel and accommodation pressure that usually comes with one packed festival weekend. While artist lineups, stage themes, and full citywide event details have not been announced yet, the structure already marks a major change from the usual three-day EDC Las Vegas format.
More Space And Expanded Las Vegas Events For 2027
One of the biggest practical changes for EDC Las Vegas 2027 is the lower-capacity plan, which directly addresses how large the festival has become at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After the sold-out 2026 edition welcomed hundreds of thousands of Headliners for the festival’s 30-year celebration, the 2027 format gives Insomniac more room to spread attendance across two weekends instead of concentrating everyone into one three-day run. For attendees, that could make the experience feel less compressed, with more space on the dance floor and less pressure around travel planning, hotel availability, and arrival logistics.
The expanded Las Vegas side also becomes a bigger part of the 2027 concept. The full Dusk Till Dawn Experience runs from May 13 to 24, with EDC-themed events planned throughout the city alongside the main festival weekends. EDC Week, Hotel EDC, Camp EDC, and other related events have not been detailed yet, but the longer calendar gives EDC Las Vegas more room to connect the Speedway experience with what happens across the city before, between, and after both weekends. For fans who usually plan Vegas around EDC, the added dates also leave more room for pool parties, club shows, hotel events, and off-site meetups without forcing everything into the same short festival window.
EDC Las Vegas 2027 Ticket Prices And Sale Date
Tickets for EDC Las Vegas 2027 go on sale at 12 p.m. PT on Friday, May 22, 2026, through the official EDC Las Vegas website. The new format gives Headliners separate price tiers depending on whether they want to attend EDC Dusk, EDC Dawn, or the full EDC Dusk Till Dawn two-weekend experience. For one-weekend passes, GA starts at $399.99 all-in, GA+ starts at $499.99 all-in, and VIP starts at $899.99 all-in.
For Headliners planning to attend both weekends, EDC Dusk Till Dawn passes start at $599.99 all-in for GA, $899.99 all-in for GA+, and $1,699.99 all-in for VIP. Layaway plans will also be available for all pass types, beginning with a $5 deposit. With one-weekend and two-weekend options now separated, the 2027 ticket structure gives attendees a more direct way to plan around time, budget, travel, and how much of the new Dusk Till Dawn format they want to experience.
John Summit Teases CTRL ESCAPE Arena Tour following the success of his second studio album
John Summit has teased a possible CTRL ESCAPE arena tour, adding another major live angle to an album cycle that has already been tied closely to his own career story. The tease comes after the release of CTRL ESCAPE, his second studio album, which was released on April 15 and played directly into his former life as an accountant through Tax Day timing, office-style promo, and pop-up events connected to the album’s concept. In the weeks around release, John Summit also kept the rollout moving through special live moments, including a Spotify and LinkedIn office pop-up in New York and an open-to-close Red Rocks set tied to CTRL ESCAPE. The arena idea also has history behind it, since John Summit previously brought the Comfort In Chaos era to Madison Square Garden and three Kia Forum shows, where the orchestral live version of Where You Are showed how his music could expand in a larger concert setting.
What John Summit Has Teased About The CTRL ESCAPE Arena Tour
John Summit has teased the CTRL ESCAPE arena tour one month after the album came out, giving fans the first real sign of how the project could move into an arena setting. In the post, John Summit said he had been working on how to bring the album to life “in an arena setting” and said a tour announcement was coming soon. The wording matters because it links the tease directly to the album, not just to another round of tour dates. It also gives fans a clearer idea of what to expect from the next chapter, with CTRL ESCAPE being treated as a full live concept.
The visual side of the tease added more context, with John Summit sharing a stage rendering that showed a packed arena and a larger production layout. EDM.com also reported the rendering as part of the CTRL ESCAPE arena tour tease, which made the post feel closer to an early preview than a casual comment online. That detail fits the way John Summit has handled the album so far, where the music, artwork, office references, and release events have all stayed tied to the same concept. For now, the confirmed point is simple: John Summit is preparing to bring CTRL ESCAPE into an arena setting, with full tour details still expected from official channels.
Inside John Summit’s CTRL ESCAPE Rollout
John Summit treated CTRL ESCAPE like a campaign tied to his own career story, with the album’s April 15 release date giving the rollout its clearest reference point. April 15 is U.S. Tax Day, which made the timing connect directly to his former CPA background and the album’s office-life concept. Before release week, John Summit had already introduced the album through a surprise Los Angeles pop-up, where the CTRL ESCAPE title and release date started circulating publicly. He later posted office-themed promo around the album, writing that it was his “first time in the office” since his accountant days, while confirming CTRL ESCAPE as his new album out April 15. The campaign kept the accounting reference specific without over-explaining it: the title uses keyboard language, the release date pointed to tax season, and the visuals placed John Summit back inside the kind of corporate setting he left before becoming a full-time artist.
The rollout also gave fans several physical touchpoints before the album came out. On April 2, Spotify and LinkedIn hosted an invite-only New York office party for John Summit’s top Spotify listeners, with the event celebrating CTRL ESCAPE ahead of its release through Experts Only and Darkroom Records.
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Coverage from the pop-up also pointed to new music being previewed, including CHICA 305, which gave the event a stronger album connection than a standard branded appearance. Less than a week later, John Summit brought CTRL ESCAPE to Red Rocks Amphitheatre for a special open-to-close album pop-up on April 8, giving fans a three-hour set tied directly to the project before its release. Those events gave the rollout two sides at once: the office concept made the album’s backstory visible, while Red Rocks put the project in front of a live crowd before the wider arena conversation started.
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rt=”0″ data-end=”61″>John Summit’s Arena History Started With Comfort In Chaos
John Summit had already tested the album-to-arena format during the Comfort In Chaos era, starting with his June 29, 2024 headline show at Madison Square Garden. The New York show used a 360-degree stage, lasers, and a larger visual setup, but the bigger point was how the night was structured around John Summit’s catalog and debut album. Pollstar reported that the show sold out with 15,636 fans and grossed $1.5 million, with ticket prices ranging from $29 to $299. The set ran as a long-form solo show, moving through different parts of John Summit’s career before ending with a two-hour Comfort In Chaos section, which made the album feel like the center of the night instead of a few new tracks placed inside a festival-style set. John Summit later uploaded the Madison Square Garden set to SoundCloud, writing that his team had put significant work into bringing the Comfort In Chaos vision to life, which adds more context to why the current CTRL ESCAPE arena tour tease feels like a continuation of a format he has already tried at scale.
@johnsummit
comfort in chaos @ madison square garden
♬ original sound – john summit
The Los Angeles run pushed that idea further, with John Summit playing three sold-out nights at the Kia Forum on November 14, 15, and 16, 2024. The 17,500-capacity venue gave Comfort In Chaos a bigger West Coast headline moment, with the sound system selected to carry the full range of John Summit’s tracks while still giving the crowd the force expected from a dance show. The Forum dates also added one of the clearest examples of how John Summit can expand his music for a larger concert setting, with a live orchestra joining him for the opening of Where You Are. He had previewed the orchestra element before the first Forum show, and the performance later became Where You Are (Orchestral Version) – Live At The Forum, released with HAYLA and Maddix in November 2024. That moment matters for the CTRL ESCAPE arena tour angle because it shows that John Summit’s arena plans are not limited to bigger screens and larger rooms. The Comfort In Chaos run already showed him using headline arenas for longer set structure, live arrangement changes, guest vocal moments, and album-focused production.
@kickzster John Summit opening up The Forum with a Full Orchestra 😍 TOP MF TIER ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥 #johnsummitforum #johnsummitkiaforum #johnsummitkiaforumla #johnsummitla #johnsummitforumla #kiaforum #kiaforumla #johnsummitlosangeles #johnsummittour #johnsummitlive #johnsummitshow #johnsummitconcert #johnsummitmightrave #johnsummitmusic #johnsummitcomfortinchaos ♬ original sound – JC | Festivals | Creator
What A CTRL ESCAPE Arena Tour Could Mean For John Summit
A CTRL ESCAPE arena tour would put John Summit’s second studio album into the same headline format that helped Comfort In Chaos grow beyond a standard DJ set. The bigger question is how far that format could go this time, especially if the tour expands beyond the U.S. and takes the CTRL ESCAPE concept into international arenas. With the album already tied to office visuals, Tax Day timing, pop-ups, and the Red Rocks album set, John Summit has enough material to turn the show into something more structured than a regular club or festival appearance. The Comfort In Chaos era also gives fans a reason to look for more than screens and lasers, since the Kia Forum run included the orchestral Where You Are moment with HAYLA. That opens the door for similar live elements, reworked intros, guest vocals, or album-specific arrangements if John Summit chooses to scale the concept further. Full tour details are still to come, but the tease has already made the next step around CTRL ESCAPE one of the most closely watched parts of his current album cycle.
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